Author page: Henry Haffner

Psalm 19 can be divided into three primary sections, centered around verses 1 (“The heavens declare the glory of God…”), 7 (“The law of the Lord is perfect…”), and 12 (“Who can discern his errors…”). The worship service this morning follows much the same pattern: a focus on both natural and special revelation, followed by a prayer that our speech and attitudes…

Eight years ago, I moved to Franklin in one of the most tumultuous weeks of my life. A week and a half prior I had just had my wisdom teeth removed when we received a phone call that my grandfather had just been diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia and had two weeks to live. We immediately packed up…

The first half of Psalm 18 depicts God’s awesome power and majesty, vividly describing Him as a rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, a “horn of salvation,” and a stronghold, among other things. Most of the music we sing in this morning’s service picks up on or elaborates on these concepts. Blest Be The Lord, My Rock, My Might (Psalm 144) incorporates…

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8 In last week’s sermon, Pastor Jamie mentioned the “beatific vision,” the immediate knowledge of God which we will experience in eternity—or more simply, “the happy sight of God.” You’ll find references to this concept at the end of Psalm 17 (vs. 15), as well as in many of the…

The past few weeks in the Psalms, one of the predominant themes has been the seeming prosperity of the wicked. In Psalm 16, David still witnesses the prosperity of the wicked. We live in a world that is not unlike David’s. We live in a world where there are jail sentences for the righteous, fines for the upright, and probations…

When planning for this summer psalms series, I initially chose Psalm 15 for a new setting because of the calendar: Psalm 15 was scheduled for the last Sunday in June (a month with five Sundays), which meant we could practice the new setting over four Sundays before using it to conclude the service this week. I was also intrigued by…

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. —James 5:13, King James Version Though psalm singing is a common practice throughout the history of Christian worship, the creation of metrical psalms—translations of the psalms into strict rhyming verse that can be easily fitted to musical settings in repeating stanzas—is a hallmark of the…

In Psalm 13 David seeks the Lord for answers, “lest [he] sleep the sleep of death.” Much of the music in this morning’s service reflects this desperate situation. Hymns like Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, Jesus, Lover of My Soul, and O Thou In Whose Presence address God directly, giving voice to a people who are in “desert lands”…

Here at Parish, we have long enjoyed singing the psalms, often to musical settings produced in house. But psalm singing is a distinctive of the Reformed faith that goes back to the origins of the movement in the 16th century. The setting of Psalm 12 we will sing at the end of this morning’s service was composed by Loys (Louis)…